So now that more and more of my old friends are returning to Live Journal, I thought I'd make a post (after 9 months). I do read LJ almost every day, and I comment, but have been posting far less since Facebook. That's going to change.

Steve and I returned last week from a two-week vacation in the Pacific Northwaet. We visited friends and family in San Francisco, Portland, Salem, Seattle, and Olympia, and made a side trip to Mt. St. Helens.

I have been on a four-week sabbatical from work, returning yesterday. There is change afoot--my company is relocating the rest of its technology workers to Denver and Austin in the next couple of years, stating this fall. Since I telecommute full-time, it shouldn't make a difference for me. But because I could be recalled to the home office at any time, the company has to offer me the option of moving or leaving with a severance package. Guess which one I'll choose?

Medically things have changed a bit. Along with high blood pressure and arthritis, I now have glaucoma and type 2 diabetes. Thanks middle age! Actually, both new conditions are very managable, and I have some great doctors. And my sister-in-law Leslie is a registered dietician and certified diabetes educator, so she has been a great help and comfort.

Family is doing well back East. My grandniece Mandy is starting college in the fall. Hard to believe time has flown so quickly. I now have 11 grandnieces and grandnephews. I do miss seeing them grow up.

Life continues peacefully here in Palm Springs, with many good friends and Steve (rootbeer1), of course.

Welcome back! I'm almost giddy with so many friends returning:) There's no doubt you'll choose the severance package, but it would be nice to see ya'll in Austin since that's where I'll be located before the end of this year.

WIth your diabetes, are you controlling with pills or insulin shots? I only ask because my dad was on pills only for 20 years. It's good your sister in law can offer reliable information.

Glad to hear that your DM II is under control. In June my doctor cut my metformin dosage in half and my BG levels haven't changed much since then. High blood pressure and high cholesterol often come with DM II. I am controlling cholesterol through dietary changes rather than using statins. Glaucoma and cataracts are common with diabetics. Also, take good care of your feet, which can be another problem due to diabetes.

Sorry to hear you've joined the Diabetes Type 2 club. Don't know if you've read about any of my Mad Kitchen Science posts about making sugar-free goodies, but if not ... you might find them interesting. ;)

Everyone has to find their own approach to keeping the diet under control, but I find Fuzzy Pink Niven's Law useful - "Never waste calories." The implication here is that if you've got a craving for, say, chocolate - have one excellent piece of chocolate that will satisfy the craving... not a whole lot more of inferior stuff. The official expansion of this Law is "Potato chips, candy, whipped cream, or a hot fudge sundae may involve you, your dietician, your wardrobe, and other factors. But FP's Law implies: Don't eat soggy potato chips, or cheap candy, or fake whipped cream, or an inferior hot fudge sundae."

i second that! I am lucky as there are 5 different manufacturers here that make "no sugar added" chocolate bars. I prefer a particular brand, Valor, that makes a 70% dark chocolate bar that is appropriately amargo for me. Even Nestlé markets "sugar-free" chocolate here, but it tastes like crap. I was surprised by the lack of sugar-free alternatives when I was in California this April.

Well - to each his own, but I looked up that product and it contains stevia ... which to me tastes absolutely horrible, so I personally wouldn't bother. I was a little annoyed their web site didn't offer an ingredients list that I could find; most sugar-free chocolates I've seen contain sugar alcohols I don't tolerate well (usually maltitol, as its physical properties are most like sucrose) as a bulk sweetener.

The core point I was getting at is that sometimes only the "real thing" will do, and a diabetic is better off with a smaller amount of a high-quality product rather than trying to get that craving satisfied with a sub-standard one - whether because of flavor or because of unpleasant digestive side effects.

This chocolate didn't use to contain "steviol glycosides", but was recently off the market for a few weeks. So apparently that's why I couldn't find it. The main sweetener used is maltitol.

I talked to a confectioner in a chocolate shop and maltitol is preferred as they use the same amount as sugar and the cooking is unaffected.

I also have found local sources of 100% chocolate as I don't like Lindt's product. I only eat a few grams at a time as it is.

Stevia doesn't bother me and the amount used in this product is almost negligible. Most products here that use stevia like to proclaim it along with being "gluten-free".

Every diabetic is different and their tolerance of simple sugars is likewise different. I have done experiments by ingesting different foods and then checking for BG at intervals afterwards to know the effects on me personally.